Thursday, May 10, 2012

The Phoenix


The mythical firebird Phoenix lives in cycles of 1,000 years at a time. Nearing the end of this cycle, the phoenix ignites in a blaze of flames and completely burns itself to ashes. From those very ashes a young, refreshed phoenix emerges, reborn again to live for another 1,000 years.
Just making an update about a very personal artwork I've been working on recently. It's a phoenix done in a rather "traditional" medium for me, colored pencil. I wasn't sure how crazy I could get with my materials this time because it's a gift to my cousin who is currently incarcerated.  

I guess I should explain the situation a little further.  I usually don't share bummer stories like this, but it's so astonishingly sad that I feel like it should be put out there just so that people know it happens. My cousin (and my family in general) has had a very rocky couple of years. It began with the death of our grandparents, who both passed within 5 years of each other. They were the "glue" that really kept my family together. My cousin was especially close to my grandparents as they were major influential figures in his life.  Then, to make matters worse, his mom gets diagnosed with breast cancer. As she was going through chemo, my cos got "mixed up in the wrong crowd" so to speak and was influenced to make mistakes that will now cost him years of freedom. His mom passed away while he was in jail. Can you imagine what this must feel like?

My cousin is only 17.  He still has an entire lifetime ahead of him...

As an artist, I regularly give people artwork as gifts all the time, but for obvious reasons I tried to make this piece especially meaningful. The phoenix mythology has always been attached to the symbolism of rebirth and renewal, which is the only positive thing that can come out of tragic situations like these. I hope that this can at least encourage my cousin to move forward with his life and have the strength to start anew. We are all given the chance to move beyond our past if we put fourth the effort to do so.




2 comments:

BoholstWife said...

i was thinking about you yesterday. i was going to send you a message today asking if you were well...i missed your postings.
About your cousin,if he is level headed, he will straighten out. If he is hard headed,then like a bird let it fly.His life, his choices. He has to live with them. And as a young adult,you know that you will do whatever you want no matter if you are lectured. So I hope your work pictured above will make him think about life and his choices. Art can be very inspirational to some people. Sometimes you have to see beauty to feel it.

Post more Miss Trina!!!

trina lyn said...

Hey boho long time no speak :] Yes I know I have been sparse on the posts lately, but I promise got a lot of projects still to write about! Im just flattered that you actually notice when i post stuff <3 you know you actually encouraged me to finish the wind chime post... I was like, BOHO NEEDS MORE POSTS! haha..

oh and about my cousin. Thanks for your insight, I really hope he will "fly straight" from now on. He seemed to really like the drawing, so maybe he can stare at it long enough that he too becomes a phoenix.

thanks for caring B :]